Curing of resins can be achieved under various conditions. One well known method in the foundry core or mold art involves using a catalyst to bring about cure at room temperatures or the "no-bakes" as they are generally called. While having acceptable performance in commercial use, present catalysts nevertheless possess features which leave room for improvement. For example p-toluene sulfonic acid is one such catalyst which enjoys some commercial use. However, the sulfur element in such a catalyst presents environmental problems when the core is burned out and the binder oxidized to form among other compounds, SO.sub.2 on pouring the metal to be cast. Beyond that, the sulfur frequently causes the metal surface to be sulfided by reaction with the iron component to form iron sulfide.
Another catalyst which has also achieved some commercial acceptance is phosphoric acid. However, like its toluene sulfonic acid counterpart, phosphoric acid catalysts frequently react with the metal surfaces of poured metals which contact cores and/or molds employing phosphoric acid used for curing the binder. The result is that the metal surface is phosphatized to iron phosphide which is not desired. Furthermore, cores employing binders cured with either toluene sulfonic acid or phosphoric acid tend to be relatively inefficient in the burn-out phase during pouring of metals and generate odors and smoke which again presents environmental problems. Both p-toluene sulfonic acid and phosphoric acid are also far less efficient in that much greater quantities of these catalysts are required for acceptable cure.